Monthly Archives: December 2012

Social media is coming of age. Since the emergence of the first social media networks some two decades ago, social media has continued to evolve and offer consumers around the world new and meaningful ways to engage with the people, events and brands that matter to them. Now, years later, social media is still growing rapidly, becoming an integral part of our daily lives. Social networking is now truly a global phenomenon.

How do you define engagement? Engagement symbolizes the touches that occur in various moments of truth. Touch points open and close whether a customer stands on the stage of awareness, consideration, purchase, or post purchase. It is in those moments that engagement, regardless of source or shape, affects the next steps and impressions of customers.

These moments of truth are not limited to any one channel. Whether customers are navigating social, mobile, Web or in real life (IRL), they approach each stage of the journey with different needs, in varying stages of decision making, and with one of several frames of mind depending on the context of engagement and also the screen (smartphone, PC, tablet, TV, etc.) they’re using in each moment. It’s becoming increasingly complex, but then again, so is the path of consumer decision-making.

The image above represents a detailed customer journey map that outlines the important steps your connected customers take during and following decision-making. The map also introduces the diverse elements that factor in to each step. Perhaps even more important are the channels and screens individuals use to make their way along the journey. Mobile, social, Web, IRL: they each contribute to a customer experience that either helps or prevents them from moving along in your favor.

In my research, I’ve found that more often than not, each stage of the customer journey, along with the mixed channels that they use, are defined or programmed by different groups within the organization. The social experience is developed independently of the mobile experience which is disconnected from the Web experience. The point is that customers only see one brand or business and, therefore, each channel should complement one another to deliver against a desired experience and journey optimized for the moments of truth and for the context of each screen.

The expansion from social to digital engagement

One of the ways I’ve defined “engagement” over the years was quite simple: it’s when a business and consumer interact within their channel of relevance during various moments of truth. Engagement, though, is then measured by the actions, sentiment, and outcomes that result from each interaction. To optimize results, experiences, click paths, outcomes, and sentiment must be defined and enlivened through each channel in each moment. To do so takes vision, articulation of that vision, and collaboration with all stakeholder groups to cast a unified approach. Yes. It’s the age-old argument of bringing down silos and opening doors between departments and groups that just don’t talk to each other right now. But, that’s just what needs to happen, and the more progressive companies are already taking note.

One such company is a business that may be part of your everyday routine.. Starbucks recently appointed Adam Brotman, former senior vice president of Starbucks Digital Ventures, to an entirely new executive role as chief digital officer. The CDO role assumes all of Starbuck’s digital projects, including Web, mobile, social media, digital marketing, Starbucks Card and loyalty, e-commerce, Wi-Fi, Starbucks Digital Network, and emerging in-store technologies.

Sephora is another forward-thinking company that is uniting disparate channel strategies and various customer journeys in the name of holistic experiences. Sephora recently underwent a makeover to define the ideal customer experience and how it would play out in digital and real world channels, including in-store engagement, while complementing and optimizing one another.

The digital lifestyle is a way of life now, and businesses that don’t think beyond social or traditional will miss the greater opportunity to lead desirable customer journeys, experiences, and outcomes. Take one more look at the Dynamic Customer Journey. As you plan for 2013 social, mobile, digital, and other channel strategies, consider how each can converge into a reciprocal and congruous ecosystem. The future of customer experiences lies in experience design and, more importantly, customer journey mapping…across the screens and in real life.

Welcome to a new world of customer journey management (CJM) and the ability to bring people together around a common vision for improving customer experiences, sentiment and relationships.

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REPORT DETAILS

Data Range: October 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012

Engagement Rate: Calculated as the average number of likes, comments and shares per post on a given day, divided by the total number of Fans for the page. It reflects the percentage of your Fan base that interacts on average with your post.

Response Time: The average time that it takes for the company to respond to user wall posts.

Response Rate: The percentage of user wall posts that get responded to by the company.

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In September this year, ComScore reported that Pinterest had penetrated the top 50 list of most visited sites in the USA. Not bad for a new social network that is barely 3 years old. The same study highlights Pinterest’s explosive growth, which now equates to over 25 million unique monthly users.

Given this fast-growing user base, Pinterest is a solid choice for attracting more traffic, leads and customers to your business. But if your new Pinterest business page is missing a few critical ingredients, then you could be going nowhere fast.

Did you know that the way you set up your page – the photo you use to promote your business, the description you add to the About section, the boards you create and where you actually place them on the page – can influence your Pinterest marketing efforts?

Your “About” Section Is Key

Let’s start by taking a look at the “About” section. This is the first thing casual browsers on Pinterest will see when they land on your page so it is essential that you use this opportunity wisely. Don’t leave it blank or waste this valuable space by being flippant or smart. Craft it carefully.

Tell people clearly and succinctly about the value you offer and how you can serve them in no more than 200 characters. Be sure to include your top SEO keywords because this section gets indexed by the search engines and is what will appear on Google when people search for you, your products or your services.

The first thing you need to decide is whether you are going to use your company logo or a personal photo. So what’s best? The truth is – it really depends.

On the whole, people tend to engage better with a brand when they know the face and name behind it. For service-based businesses, bloggers and personal brands in particular, a professional headshot of the founder can be a very powerful way of connecting with your audience.

In some instances though, a logo is better. It can help increase brand awareness, give a more corporate feel to your page as well as reassure pinners that they are engaging with the official brand.

Ultimately, your decision should boil down to how you want to be perceived by your audience.

Experiment with both and see what converts best for you. You may be surprised!

Why Is Board Placement So Important?

A revealing eye tracking study conducted for Mashable shows that unlike on Facebook, when people browse your Pinterest page their eyes move from the top down the middle of the page.

This means that the boards you place at the top and center of the page get seen by the greatest number of viewers.

It is therefore critical that you place your best, most popular and relevant content in this precious Pinterest real estate i.e. the top two rows.

Many Focused Boards Work Best

Newcomers to Pinterest often make the mistake of quickly throwing together a few disparate boards with one or two pins on them. This gives your page a lack of cohesion and makes each board seem incomplete, which will not help you attract followers. In fact, it may damage your brand image.

A more effective approach is to build lots of focused boards that showcase the lifestyle around your brand. If you need some inspiration, think about your ideal customer and build boards that address their interests and frequently asked questions.

As you grow your page, aim for at least 20-25 boards to give you several complete rows without any gaps and add a minimum of 8-10 pins to each board so they are worth following.

Make each board theme-specific and use a catchy title that clearly indicates what it’s about. By all means be creative but remember that by including some keywords in the board description you can enhance your searchability on Pinterest and get your content in front of more eyeballs.

Include Non-Industry Topics

Another tip is to add a few boards that focus on non-industry topics such as Food, Education, Cars, Home, Travel, all of which are popular niches on Pinterest. This will enable you to attract a broader audience and give people an insight into the other aspects of your personality and brand.

Remember also to take advantage of trending topics by creating special themed boards relating to these events or occasions and give them preference at the appropriate time of year by moving your boards around.

Setting up your Pinterest page in this manner will not only attract a surge of new followers but also help your pins go viral. Take a look at this infographic for more ideas on how to optimize your Pinterest account and capitalize on this hot new social network.

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Eloqua has teamed up with infographic design firm JESS3 again to create Modern Marketing Insights, a series of 40 infographics using big data analysis that can help marketers anywhere:

Did you know that dynamic content can improve conversions by 50%? Or that emails sent on a Saturday get the highest number of click-throughs? Were you aware that when influencers share your content on social it can result in a dramatic increase in traffic and conversions?

That’s why we produce a chart every week that modern marketers can easily learn from and use. And it’s why we’ve gone back with our friends at JESS3 to reproduce the most indispensable data points, coming up with 40 understandable, actionable charts. Wide-ranging in scope, the charts hit the most important topics hitting marketers today – from social media to email.